MDC deputy chairperson Job Sikhala, who appeared yesterday
at the Bikita Magistrates’ Court facing a treason charge, has recounted a
horror tale at the hands of the police when he was nicodemously taken from
Harare Central Police Station to Masvingo without the knowledge of his lawyers.
Sikhala yesterday made an initial court appearance before
magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa charged with contravening section 22 (2) (a)(iii)
of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act following utterances he
allegedly made at a Bikita rally that he will “overthrow President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF government before 2023”.
At the commencement of the hearing, his defence counsel,
led by Alec Muchadehama and supported by Harrison Nkomo, Douglas Mwonzora and
Jeremiah Bhamu,
requested adjournment of court so that they could meet him
and get instructions since they last saw him in Harare when he was supposed to
appear at the Rotten
Row Courts.
Muchadehama then requested that Sikhala testify on how he
came to Bikita and the torture he suffered at the hands of the police when the
court sitting resumed.
The State, led by provincial prosecutor Elison Chabarika,
consented.
“I was smuggled from Harare to Bikita. I was denied access
to my lawyers and family when I was arrested on Tuesday at 8am. As such, I did
not eat anything and my first meal was today (this) morning. I raised health
issues with the police that I am hypertensive and asthmatic, but the police
could not have any of that. I could not take my medication,” he said.
“When I was supposed to go to court in Harare on Wednesday
morning, which I consented to, the investigating officer disappeared, only to
return at around 1pm, handcuffed me and never told me where I was going.”
Sikhala added: “We went to the car park at Harare Central
Police Station where three cars – two twin cabs and a minibus were waiting for
me with 12 men armed with guns. I was bundled inside, put in leg irons and
sandwiched by two armed men. They blindfolded me with a hood and sped off with
me.”
“After driving for about two-and-half hours, according to
my estimation, I could not breath, and I told them and they only left space for
my nose outside to breath. They denied me the chance to relieve myself,” he
said.
“I could not take it anymore and my head was boiling and I
complained, that is when they removed the blindfold. It took me about 10
minutes to realise where we were and I saw a Zororo Lodge sign, then I knew we were
near Gutu Growth Point.”
Muchadehama applied for refusal of further remand, saying
Sikhala was overdetained.
Chabarika opposed the application, arguing that Sikhala
went to court before the lapse of the 48-hour requirement as he was detained at
10:20am Tuesday.
However, Muchadehama reminded him that the law talks about
both arrest and detention.
In her ruling, dismissing Sikhala’s application, Gofa said
the criminal proceedings cannot be over-ridden by overdetention.
“It is clear that criminal proceedings cannot be stayed
because of torture or over-detention. It is not a bar to prosecution. Be that
as it may, the complaints raised by the accused cannot be ignored, hence the State
should investigate the allegations,” Gofa said.
The trial continues on July 24 in Bikita and Sikhala has
since applied for bail at the Masvingo High Court.
There was a heavy police and CIO presence in Bikita with
the Masvingo-BIkita road clogged with numerous roadblocks searching for
“dangerous weapons”.
The courtroom was packed to the brim as MDC supporters came
from as far as Harare, Gutu, Masvingo, Bikita and Zaka in solidarity. Newsday
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